Feds: Sovereign 'elder' focus of case

Prosecutor says local man's possession of firearms a concern

Updated 2:24 pm, Thursday, March 28, 2013

Albany

In April 2010, when the FBI learned that U.S. governors received letters telling them they could be "removed," it led investigators to a nationwide anti-government movement — and a former orthodontist from Columbia County.

His name was Glenn R. Unger, but he told the FBI his real name was "Sam Kennedy," the same identity he used in Internet radio broadcasts from Albany and at seminars. There, he would allegedly detail how to scam the federal Internal Revenue Service, something authorities say Unger had been doing for several years along with not filing tax returns.

Unger, 61, now faces tax-related felony charges in U.S. District Court — as do at least 15 of his disciples around the country who heard his message and allegedly decided to follow his illegal path.

Federal authorities say Unger, an "elder" in the sovereign citizen movement, also sold painkillers without an active license, swindled a fellow orthodontist out of $200,000, kept assault rifles and an Uzi 9 mm handgun in his Ogdensburg (St. Lawrence County) home and stashed printed documents in a Rensselaer County storage facility about armor-piercing ammunition, grenade launching devices, and chlorine, pipe and envelope bombs. Public records show he also had residences in Albany and Rensselaer.

Unger identified himself to State Police as a "1922 silver dollar coin." And he told the FBI he is the "most wanted man in the country because he has done more to affect commerce in this country than anyone else" and "would rather die than be subject to the government," court papers say.

If convicted, Unger faces 6 1/2 to 8 3/4 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines. Prosecutors requested he be detained as he awaits trial.

"I think he's a danger to the community because it's a dangerous combination of anti-government beliefs and the possession of firearms — especially firearms capable of handling large amounts of ammunition," Assistant U.S. Attorney Ransom Reynolds told the judge on Jan. 2.

Unger told the judge none of his guns were unlawful, were in "storage basically" and most had not been touched in 25 years. He said the documents in the storage facility were for his past work as a writer.

"I fully expect that the intention is to put me away for the rest of my life," Unger told Treece. "And I'll tell you this judge — it doesn't scare me one bit."

The prosecutor described Unger as a flight risk given his collection of books discovered by authorities with titles such as "How to Disappear in America," and "How to Be Invisible."

Federal authorities say Unger, the former operator of Columbia County Orthodontics in Chatham, closed his business in 2006 and transferred his patients to another orthodontist, to whom he gave a fraudulent $200,000 bonded promissory note.

Unger then held paid seminars around the country and ran an Albany-based Internet radio show to teach listeners two alleged financial scams.

"According to the defendant's teachings, if a taxpayer were to follow the scheme he promoted, then the taxpayer would be issued a refund from the IRS to which they were not legally entitled," Ransom wrote in a memo to Treece.

Prosecutors say between 2007 and 2011, Unger himself filed 13 false tax returns seeking $36 million in refunds. The IRS realized the claims were phony and sent him no money. And prosecutors also say Unger has not filed legal tax returns since 1999.

Unger, whose show was titled "Take No Prisoners," used the name "Dr. Sam Kennedy" to conceal his identity.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights group, has identified Unger as one of the more secretive leaders of the sovereign citizen movement, which it considers a subset of the anti-government "militia" and "Patriot" movements. The FBI considers sovereign citizen extremists an increasing domestic terror threat. Timothy Nichols, who helped plan the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, belonged to the movement. In 2010, sovereign extremists killed two police officers in Arkansas.

Unger is not charged with any violent crimes. The FBI interviewed him on April 5, 2010 after the governors received the letters, which had been signed by the senders.

Mark Potok, who edits the intelligence report for the Southern Poverty Law Center, said Unger was a founding member of Guardians of the Free Republics, the nation's largest sovereign citizen group and the entity behind the mailings.

"That sent a scare right across the country," Potok said, noting several governors heightened security. "I think law enforcement attention came to Unger as a result of that."

State Police arrested Unger on Dec. 29, stopping him as he drove in the Ogdensburg area. Authorities later found the guns in his home and documents in the Castleton storage facility that included "Internet printouts dated between 1996 and 2006 regarding fuses, pyrotechnics, armor piercing ammunition, grenade launching devices, trip wire switches, radio controlled detonation, chlorine bombs, pipe bombs, envelope bombs, glycerin, homemade silencers and money laundering," court papers said.